System for providing a customized media list

ABSTRACT

A system is described for providing a customized media list to a user over a data network. The system provides a personalized data of the user to a computer system, generates a customizes media list by the computer system for the user based on the personal data, and provides the customized media list to the user through the computer system where the customized media list represents a customized content and a customized advertising.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/206,393, filed on Jul. 26, 2002, which, in turn, is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 09/487,120, filed on Jan. 19, 2000, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,735,778, issued May 11, 2004. The entire contents of Ser. No.10/206,393 and Ser. No. 09/487,120 are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the transmission of broadcastmedia over a data network, and more particularly to, a method and systemfor providing a customized media list to a user over that data network.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional broadcast media (including visual and audio media over atelevision) has been provided to viewers and listeners for decades andtypically falls under the paradigm illustrated in prior art FIG. 1.Prior art FIG. 1 is a block diagram view of a conventional broadcastmedia paradigm. In prior art FIG. 1, media 5, includes both content 10(e.g. television shows, sports, news, weather, movies, concerts, etc.)and advertising 15. The content 10 is provided to the viewer andlistener for entertainment or information purposes, while theadvertising 15 is typically used to provide revenues for the broadcaster20. The broadcaster 20 also shares the advertising revenues with thecontent 10 providers. Thus, from FIG. 1, the broadcaster 20 is thedistributor 25 of the content 10 and the advertising 15 to the viewerand listener 30 through a distribution means 35. The distribution means35 includes public broadcast 40, cable 45 distribution and satellite 50distribution. In essence, the broadcaster 20 distributes the content 10and advertising 15 through the distribution means 35 and generallyshares the costs of distributing such content 10 and advertising 15 withthe viewer and listener 30 through the distribution means 35.

Several disadvantages exist with the paradigm of prior art FIG. 1. Thesedisadvantages are shared by the advertisers of the advertising 15, thebroadcasters 20 and the viewer and listener 30. A first disadvantage isthat the viewer and listener 30 has few options as to the content 10 andadvertising 15 that the viewer and listener 30 may view. That is, suchcontent 10 and advertising 15 has already been scheduled by thedistributor 25 and the viewer and listener 30 may only-watch (or listento) such content 10 and advertising 15 that has been scheduled. Theviewer and listener's only option is to change the channel on thetelevision or turn off the television. Either option limits the viewingaudience for the broadcasters 20, advertisers 15 and content 10providers.

A second disadvantage is that advertisers can only guess as to thenumber of the target audiences viewing the content 10. Well knownaudience estimators only estimate the number or actual viewers andlisteners that watch and listen to the content 10 and advertising 15.The advertisers 15 base their targeted audiences on such estimatedratings. Thus, advertisers are paying for advertising that may neverreach the full target audience. This is because the advertisement is notreaching 100 percent of the target audience. Also, the current estimateof viewers and listeners only provide a guess on the number of actualviewers and listeners.

A third disadvantage with the paradigm of prior art FIG. 1 is that noone television channel is customized to each viewer and listener. Aviewer and listener must therefore search the various contentsthroughout the television channels which takes time and may result inlittle or no content and advertising being watched.

A fourth disadvantage is that specific television content 10 is onlyshown at a specified schedule, which a viewer and listener may notalways be available to adhere to. Thus, a viewer is forced to eithermiss the scheduled content or otherwise must record the content whichtakes planning and time.

A fifth disadvantage is that the ratings for the audience of aparticular content is delayed in the paradigm of prior art FIG. 1.Further, such ratings are imperfect in that only an estimate rather thanan actual number of viewers may be given.

A need therefore exists for a method and system for providing media thatalleviates many of these disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a method for providing a customizedmedia list to a user over a data network. The method includes the firststep of providing a personalized data of the user to a computer system.Then, the computer system generates a customized media list for the userbased on the personalized data and provides the customized media list tothe user through the computer system. The customized media listrepresents a customized content and a customized advertising to theuser.

In a further embodiment, the method also includes the step ofretrieving, through the computer system, a customized media based on thecustomized media list. The customized content represents a list oftelevision shows and the customized advertising represents a list ofadvertising commercials, where the list of television shows and the listof advertising commercials are arranged in a predetermined order.

An additional step, in a still further embodiment, of providing thepersonalized data includes the step of providing a personal profile ofthe user that contains data describing the user. This substep includes,in this embodiment, providing a television show preference of the user.

The generating step, in another embodiment, also includes generating,through the computer system, the customized media list based on thepersonal profile, the television show preference, the past viewinghabits and a predetermined list of available television shows of theuser.

The step of providing the personalized data to the computer systemfurther includes, in another embodiment, providing the personalized datato a client of the computer system and then transmitting thepersonalized data to a server of the computer system from the client ofthe computer system. Then, in a further embodiment, the generating stepincludes the step of generating the customized media list at the serverof the computer system.

The step of providing the customized media list to the user furtherincludes, in a still further embodiment, the steps of transmitting thecustomized media list from a server to the client of the computersystem, then retrieving through the client, a customized media beingrepresented by the customized media list immediately upon receiving thecustomized media list, where the customized media includes a televisionshow and an advertising commercial. Then the step of providing thecustomized media list from the client to the user is provided. A furtherembodiment includes a step of providing an option to the user ofmodifying the customized media list.

The present invention further provides for a system for providing acustomized media list to a user over a data network. This system, in oneembodiment, includes a server storage medium for storing an entirecontent media, an entire advertising media and a personal data of theuser. In this embodiment, the system further includes a processor forgenerating a customized media list from the personalized data, theentire content media and the entire advertising media. A transmittingmeans for transmitting the customized media list over a data network isalso included as part of the system. Also as part of the system is aclient processor for retrieving the customized media represented by thecustomized media list. A client storage media is also provided forstoring the customized media list and the customized media transmittedfrom the service processor. The system further includes a clientprocessor that provides an option to the user of modifying thecustomized media list. Also as part of this system, in a furtherembodiment, is a display means for displaying the customized media andcustomized media list to the user.

In a still further embodiment, the present invention further providesfor a system that provides a customized media list to a user over a datanetwork that includes a storage means for storing an entire contentmedia, an entire advertising media and a personalized data of the user.The system further has a server processor means for generating acustomized media list from the personalized data, the entire contentmedia and the entire advertising media. A transmitting means fortransmitting the customized media list over a data network is provided,as is a client processing means for retrieving the customized mediarepresented by the customized media list. A client storage means forstoring the customized media list and the customized media transmittedfrom the server processor is also provided.

The present invention further provides, in another embodiment, for acomputer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon, sothat when the computer instructions are loaded into a computer system,those instructions cause the computer system to perform the steps ofproviding a personalized data of the user to a computer system, thengenerating a customized media list by the computer system for the userbased on the personalized data. A last step is then performed ofproviding the customized media list to the user through the computersystem where the customized media list represents a customized contentand a customized advertising.

The present invention also provides, in a still further embodiment, foran electronic signal having data containing computer instructions that,when loaded into a computer system, causes the computer system toperform the steps of providing a personalized data of the user to acomputer system, then generating a customized media list by the computersystem for the user based on the personalized data, and then providingthe customized media list to the user through the computer system wherethe customized media list represents a customized content and acustomized advertising.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the advantagesthereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understoodby reference to the detailed description when considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a prior art block diagram view of a broadcast media industryparadigm;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the computer systemof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the server of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the client of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram view of a general purpose computer that may beused to implement an embodiment of the method and system of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS SYSTEM OVERVIEW

FIG. 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the computer systemof the present invention. In FIG. 2, a computer system 200 is shownhaving a server storage medium 205. The server storage medium 205 may beany type of storage device as are well known in the art, for example,any type of disc including floppy disc, optical disc, DVD, CD-ROMS,magnetic optical discs, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards,or any type of storage media that is suitable for storing electronicinstructions/data. The server storage medium 205 contains individualdatabases including an entire content media 210, an entire advertisingmedia 215 and a personalized data database 220 of a user 240. It isnoted that the personalized database 220 may also contain personalizeddata of multiple users. Each of these databases store either content210, advertising 215 or personalized data 220 for use in the computersystem 200 using an embodiment of the method of the present invention asdescribed below. The computer system 200 further includes a server 225,which may have the embodiment of any general purpose computer as shownin FIG. 7 described below. It is noted that the computer system 200, asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 2, shows a server 225 and client 235 astwo separate general purpose computers (FIG. 7). However, as is apparentto one skilled in the art, the server 225 and client 235 connected bythe data network 230 may, in fact, be a single general purpose computer,where the data network 230 is a bus (FIG. 7) rather than a data networksuch as the Internet. That is, while the embodiment of FIG. 2 shows theserver and client as separate entities, those entities may in fact beone general purpose computer as shown in FIG. 7.

Still in FIG. 2, a data network 230 connects the server 225 and theclient 235. The data network 230 may be an Internet, an Intranet, anethernet-type bus, or any type of connection that is able to transferdata between the server 225 and client 235. In one embodiment, the datanetwork 230 is the Internet, where data is transmitted from differentgeographical locations where the server 225 and the client 235 arelocated. The server 225 includes a server processor (not shown), whichmay be any well-known central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor(whether a single microprocessor or a plurality of microprocessors). Theserver processor, in one embodiment of the present invention, generatesa customized media list 226 from personalized data 241 that is enteredby the user 240 to the client 235. Thus, as more fully described below,a user 240 will provide personalized data 241 to the client 235. Again,the client 235 is a computer system 200, which may be any generalpurpose computer as described below in FIG. 7.

After the user provides the personalized data 241 to the client 235,that personalized data 241 is transferred through the data network 230to the server 225, which is also part of the computer system 200. Onceat the server 225, a server processor generates a customized media list226 from the personalized data by reviewing the entire content media inthe content media 210 and the entire advertising media 215 to match theentire content media 210 and the entire advertising media 215 to thepersonalized data 241 to create a customized media list 226. By match,it is understood that two particular algorithms are provided, within theserver 225, in order to provide a customized media list. The matchoccurs using properties of the content 210 and advertising 215 asdescribed below. A first algorithm, implemented by a personalizedcontent service module (FIG. 3), generates a customized content portionof the customized media list while a second algorithm, a personalizedadvertising service module (FIG. 3), generates a customized advertisingmedia for the customized media list 226. These algorithms are createdusing software programming techniques that may be programmed usinglanguages such as Java, C++ or any basic conditional programminglanguage. Any such algorithm would attempt to optimize the entirecontent media 210 and the entire advertising media 215 that is generatedonto the customized media list so as to personalize the content based onthe user's 240 preference while minimizing the advertising media 215based on an optimal profit to the provider of the content media 210.

Once the customized media list 226 is generated by the server 225 usingthe two algorithms described above, the customized media list istransmitted through the data network 230 by any transmitting means. Inone embodiment, the transmitting means would be any means of datacommunications including modem lines, cable, satellite, DSL, fiber opticlines or other well-known similar means for transmitting data betweentwo remote locations. In a further embodiment, the transmitting meansmay be the bus described in the general purpose computer of FIG. 7.Furthermore, the client 235 may be a single client, or a single generalpurpose computer such as the computer of FIG. 7, or may be multipleclients as shown in FIG. 2. A client processor (not shown) retrievescustomized media from the entire customized content media 210 that isrepresented on the customer media list. That is, the client 235 receivesthe customized media list from the server 225 over the data network 230and then the client processor may retrieve the customized media, fromother locations, based on the customized media list 226. Once at theclient 235, the customized media list 226 is stored on a client storagemedium that also may store the customized media transmitted from theserver processor at the server 225. Again, the client storage medium maybe any type of medium as described with regard to the server storagemedium and the general purpose computer of FIG. 7.

In a further embodiment, the client processor (not shown) furtherprovides an option to a user 240 of modifying the customized media list226 received from the server 225. For example, the user may remove oradd shows to the customized media list 226, or may rearrange thecustomized media list 226. It is further understood that the user maymodify the customized media list not only to modify the customizedmedia, but also to modify the customized advertising that is part of thecustomized media list 226. In a still further embodiment, the user mayremove customized advertising by paying the content provider a premiumfee.

In another embodiment, a display means (not shown) is provided to theuser 240 in order to view the customized media list 226 and thecustomized media. Further, the display means is used to transmit otherinformation such as the personalized data 241 and other informationdescribed herein to the user. In a still further embodiment, an audiomeans is provided whereby the user may listen to the content media andadvertising media being transmitted. Both the display means and audiomeans are implemented using devices described in the general purposecomputer of FIG. 7 below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram view of the server 225 shown in FIG. 2. InFIG. 3, various software layers or modules are shown within the server225. As is well known to one skilled in the art, these layers or modulesare implemented in computer code to perform the functions describedherein. It is noted that while the server 225 is shown with the layersor modules depicted in FIG. 3, various other hardware and softwaremodules may exist within server 225 including, for example, the serverprocessor, storage means, etc. to make the server a general purposecomputer as exemplified in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

Still in FIG. 3, the server 225 is in communication with the datanetwork 230 as depicted in FIG. 2. Within the server 225 are multiplesoftware modules and/or layers. A client communication layer 300 managesthe manner in which the server 225 communicates with the client 235. Theclient communications layer 300 is replaceable depending on the type ofdata network 230 utilized as well as the type of client utilized. Alsoin the server 225 is a personalized advertisement service module 305.The personalized advertisement service module 305 performs the serviceof the first algorithm discussed above that matches the advertisementcontained in the entire advertising media 215 to the customized contentof 210. Likewise, the personalized content service module 310 is thesecond algorithm described above used to match or optimize the contentcontained in the entire content media 215 to the users' personalizeddata. It is noted that these modules are implemented using softwareprogramming languages as described above. Also contained on the server225 is the inventory management module 315. This module 315 works inconjunction with the personalized advertisement service module 305 andthe personalized content service module 310 to efficiently provide thoseservices 305 and 310 to a user. That is, the inventory management 315 isshared by the module 305 and 310 for common routines or procedures thatare run by the modules 305 and 310. For example, it is anticipated thatcertain routines or procedures will be reiterated throughout the methodof the present invention in providing the customized media list, andtherefore, the algorithms of the modules 305 and 310 may use the module315 to efficiently provide the services of those modules 305 and 310 tothe user 240 (FIG. 2).

The user management module 320 is used by the server 235 to receive thepersonalized data 241 of FIG. 2 and store such information on typicalstorage mediums. The user management module 320 takes the personalizeddata that consists of the personal profile of the user, the televisionshow preference of the user and the past viewing habits of the user andstores that data on a storage medium in the server 235. That informationis later transmitted to the personalized advertisement service module305 and the personalized content service module 310 that is later usedto generate the customized media list being returned to the user. Themedia transport service module 325 is also located on the server 235 andperforms the function of retrieving the customized media that is basedon the customized media list 226. The media transport service module 325communicates with the entire content media 215 and the entireadvertising media 210 to deliver the customized media to the user basedon the customized media list 226. It is noted that the server storagemedium 205 contains the entire content media 215, the entire advertisingmedia 210 and the personalized data of the user may be physicaldatabases contained within the server or, in a further embodiment, maybe databases located throughout remote data networks or remote serversthat may be retrieved by the server 235. The database service module330, much like the client communication layer 300, facilitates thecommunication between the server storage medium 205 and the modules 305,310, 315, 320 and 325.

In use, the server 225 receives the personalized data 241 through thedata network 230 using the client communication layer 300 to interfacewith the data network 230 and the client 235. Once the personalized data241 is received by the server 235, the personalized data 241 is storedin the user management module 320. Thereafter, the personalized data maybe retrieved from the user management module 320 to be used by thepersonalized advertisement service module 305 and the personalizedcontent service module 310, in conjunction with the inventory managementmodule 315, to generate a customized media list 226 based on thepersonalized data 241. Again, as discussed previously, the personalizeddata 241 is based on the personal profile of the user, the televisionshow preference of the user and the past viewing habit of the user thatis provided by the user to the computer system at a first point in timewhere the user uses the computer system 200.

After the customized media list 226 is generated by the server 235, thecustomized media list 226 is transmitted through the data network 230 tothe client 235. At the time the customized media list reaches the client235, the client 235 requests, from the server storage medium 205,through the data network 230 and the client 235, the customized contentand customized advertising contained within the entire content media 210and entire advertising media 215 which is then returned to the client235. It is noted that in the server storage medium 205, the personalizeddata database 220 contains the personal profile, television showpreference and past viewing habits of the user. The customized contentretrieved from the entire content media 215 represents television shows,movies, news, sports, weather, and other content that is not advertisinginformation. The customized advertising contains advertising commercialsthat are sequenced within the customized content in a predeterminedorder. The predetermined order is determined by the content itself andthe user's personalized data.

To match particular content and advertisements to a user, specificproperties of the content and advertisements are stored in the severstorage medium 205 of FIG. 3. For example, an advertiser may linkcertain properties, such as target audience, genre, age of user, incomeof the user, recreational interests of the user, etc., to particularadvertisements and may send those advertisements to a user whosepersonalized data matches those properties. Again, the match isperformed in the modules 305 (for advertisements) and 310 (for content)of FIG. It is noted that these properties may be saved in any database,not only the server storage database 205.

Similarly, content may contain properties saved on a database thatdescribe the content. The properties are, for example, title, genre,actors, length of the content, recommended audience and other propertiesthat describe the content. In a further embodiment, the properties maybe embedded in the actual content or advertisement itself.Alternatively, in a still further embodiment, the properties may beembedded in the audio portions of the content or advertisement and anytype of speech recognition device may be used to locate those propertiesin the audio portions of the content or advertisement. In essence, theproperties may be placed in any location as long as the properties maybe matched with the personalized data of the user.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram view of the client 235 of FIG. 2. In FIG. 4,the client 235 is shown with various modules contained therein. Muchlike the server 225 of FIG. 3, these modules are implemented usingsoftware code or other types of computer instructions to implement thefunctionality of these modules as described below. It is understood thatthe client 235 may be multiple clients as shown in FIG. 2, may be asingle client as shown in FIG. 4 or even be the same as the server 225as part of one computer system 200. The devices that comprise the clientare standard general purpose computer devices as depicted in FIG. 7below.

In FIG. 4, a user service module 400 is contained within the client 235and serves to interact with the user 240 to transmit the personalizeddata 241 from the user 240 to the server 225 in order to generate thecustomized media list (not shown). The user service module 400 furtherprovides the functions of interfacing with the user to providepreferences to the user on television shows. In essence, the userservice 400 is used for all interactions with the user 240 that may beimplemented by the computer system of the present invention. Also inclient 235 is customized media service module 405 that handles thereception of the customized media from the server 225 through the datanetwork 230. The customized media service module 405 receives thecustomized media that is based on the customized media list and sendsthe customized media to the media cache service module 410 that containsa storage medium (not shown) to hold the customized media. Again, theclient 235 contains multiple devices for a general purpose computer suchas that shown in FIG. 7 below. The server communication layer 415enables a client 235 to communicate with the data network 230 and theserver 225, and is interchangeable with various types of servers anddata networks.

In use, the client 235 of FIG. 4 receives the personalized data 241 thatprovides a personal profile of the user 240 containing data thatdescribes the user 240. This type of data includes information regardingthe user 240 such as name, age, income, address, hobbies, hours oftelevision watched per day, profession, and any other type ofinformation that is suitable for purposes of marketing content oradvertising to a user 240. The personalized data 241 further includestelevision show preferences from the user 240 (either by category orparticular shows), movies, news, sports or other types of televisionbroadcast. It is noted that the personalized data 241 of the user 240may also include audio preferences of the user in order to transmitcustomized media and a customized media list specifically directed toaudio preferences of the user. Thus, the present invention as claimedbelow, is not limited to purely visual content. The preference of a usermay include audio preferences, in alternative embodiments.

Returning to FIG. 4, the personalized data 241 is received by the userservice module 400 of the client 235 and the interaction between theuser 240 and the client 235 is performed by the user service module 400.Thus, a user 240 may receive prompts such as questions asking “pleaseinsert your name”, “please provide your address”, etc. depending on thedata described above that is being requested. After the user servicemodule 400 receives that information, that personalized data istransmitted through the data network 230 to the server 225 where thecustomized media list is generated by the server 225 as described inFIG. 3. The customized media list is then returned from the server 225through the data network 230 to the client 235 where it is received bythe user service module 400 and transmitted to the user 240.Concurrently with receiving the customized media list by the user 240,the customized media is retrieved from the server 225 through the datanetwork 230 from the server storage medium and returned to thecustomized media service 405 and the client 235 where it is stored inmedia cache service 410 by a storage medium as described below in FIG.7.

Methodology

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method of the presentinvention. In FIG. 5, a first step 500 begins where a user providespersonalized data to a computer system. From FIGS. 2-4, it is describedthat the user 240 provides personalized data to the computer system 200that includes the client 235 and the server 225 through a data network230. The computer system 200 includes the client 235, server 225 and theserver storage medium 205, or, in alternative embodiments, separatecomputer systems contained remotely at the client location and theserver location. The user typically provides the personalized data tothe computer system through some type of display means (not shown) suchas a television set, a personal computer or other type of display meansthat allows the user to interface with the computer system (FIG. 7). Inanother embodiment, the user can enter the personalized data throughother means that are not visual, such as audio means, or other inputdevices such as those listed with regard to the general purpose computerof FIG. 7.

Once the user provides the personalized data to the computer system, acustomized media list for the user is generated based on the user'spersonalized data at step 505. At this step 505, the customized medialist 226 of FIG. 2 is generated by the server 225 using the personalizedadvertisement service module 305 and the personalized content servicemodule 310, in conjunction with the inventory management module 315, togenerate the customized media list (FIG. 3). As described above, thecustomized media list is based on the personal profile, the televisionshow preference, the past viewing habits and a predetermined list ofavailable television shows that the user provides as personalized dataand is also provided from the entire content media 210 of the servicestorage medium 205. Again, the customized media list is generated by themodules 305 and 310 of FIG. 3. After the customized media list isgenerated at step 505, the customized media list is provided to the userand automatically utilized by the user via the computer system. Thecustomized media list represents the customized content contained in theentire content media 210 and the customized advertising contained in theentire advertising media 215. The customized media list is provided tothe user through the user service module 400 of the client 235 andinstantaneously the customized media service module 405 of the client235 requests the customized content and the content advertising to besent to the client and stored in memory using the media cache servicemodule 410.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMPLE

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method of the presentinvention. In FIG. 6, the comprehensive example of one embodiment of themethodology and system of the present invention begins at step 600 wherea user, such as user 240 of FIGS. 2-4, turns a television on. It isnoted that this comprehensive example relates specifically to providingvisual content to a user, that is, customized content and customizedadvertising that is visually received by a user on a television.However, note that the present method and system of the presentinvention is not limited to visual content or televisions, but is alsoinclusive of receiving audio or other stimulus through other meansvisual, audio or otherwise, using the method and system of the presentinvention as claimed below. Returning to the embodiment of the exampleof FIG. 6, after turning on the television, the computer systemdetermines whether a personalized data of the user has been set up inthe computer system. Note that multiple users may use a common system ofthe present invention, and therefore the computer system implementingthe method and system of the present invention may request to know whichuser of a particular television, for example, is implementing the methodand system of the present invention. Thus, at step 605, the computersystem determines whether the user has a personalized data by eitherasking the user's name or other identification, or if no other users areable to use the system, then the computer system automatically pulls upthe personalized data of the user. If the computer system does not havea personalized data of the user, the user enters the personalized dataif desired at step 610. After the user enters the personalized data, thetelevision transmits the personalized data to the computer system 200 ofFIG. 2 at step 615. If the user does have personalized data already inthe computer system, the personalized data is automatically sent to thecomputer system at step 615 and step 610 is skipped. At step 615, theuser has already provided a personal profile of the user, a televisionshow preference and a past viewing habit. This is combined with apredetermined list of television shows that are contained in the entirecontent media 215 of the server storage medium 205, all shown in FIGS. 2and 3. At step 615, the personalized data goes from the user'stelevision to the client 235 of FIG. 2 as shown in FIG. 4. Once at theclient, the personalized data, which used the user service module 400 tointeract with the user, is sent through the server communication layer415, through the data network 230 and to the server 225 which is shownin FIG. 3. Upon arriving at the server 225, the personalized data 241goes through the client communication layer 300 and to the usermanagement module 320. The user management module 320 contains logicthat stores the personalized data in the personalized data database 220and further communicates with the personalized advertisement servicemodule 305 and the personalized content service module 310 in order togenerate a customized media list, using the inventory management module315, where the customized media list is based on the personalized data.Again, the customized media list is generated by matching properties ofthe content and advertisements with the personalized data of the user.When the customized media list is generated by the server 235, thecustomized media list is sent through the client communication layer 300through the data network 230 to the client 235 where the customizedmedia list is sent through the server communication layer 415 to thecustomized media service module 405. Once at the customized mediaservice module 405, the customized media list is sent to the media cacheservice 410 while simultaneously sent to the user service module 400. Atthe user service module 400, the customized media list is displayed tothe user, in this embodiment, through a television. Simultaneously, whenthe customized media service module 405 sends the customized media listto the media cache service module 410, the media cache service module410 interacts with the server communication layer 415 and goes throughthe data network 230 to the server 225, and through the clientcommunication layer 300, to retrieve the customized content andcustomized advertising that is contained in the server storage medium205. The customized content and the customized advertising is then sentback through the server 225, the data network 230 and is cached at themedia cache service module 410 of the client 235 on a storage medium.Thus, at this step, the computer system has generated the customizedmedia list and sent that list to the user's television at step 620. Nowthat the customized media list has been sent to the user at step 620,the television retrieves the customized content and the customizedadvertising that has been cached in the storage medium through the mediacache service module 410 on the client 235 at step 625. Now, at step630, the user views the customized content and the customizedadvertising being shown on the television. Next, at step 635, the useris given an option to modify the customized media list. If the user sochooses, the user may customize the media list to add, remove, orotherwise rearrange the customized content on the customized media listat 640. If the user so chooses to modify the customized media list, thepersonal data of the user is updated in view of such modification atstep 645. If the user does not choose to modify the customized medialist, the user the merely views the customized content and customizedadvertising on the television at step 630.

FIG. 7 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a general purposecomputer which is used, in one embodiment, to implement the method andsystem of the present invention. The general purpose computer, in oneembodiment, acts as either the server 225 or client 235 of FIGS. 2-4, orboth. The general purpose computer 74 6 of FIG. 7 includes a processor730 and memory 725. Processor 730 may contain a single microprocessor,or may contain a plurality of microprocessors, for configuring thecomputer system as a multi-processor system. In alternative embodimentsdescribed above, the processor 730 includes the server processor andclient processor of FIGS. 2-4 above. Memory 725, stores, in part,instructions and data for execution by processor 730. If the system ofthe present invention is wholly or partially implemented in software,including computer instructions, memory 725 stores the executable codewhen in operation. Memory 725 may include banks of dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM) as well as high speed cache memory.

The computer of FIG. 7 further includes a mass storage device 735,peripheral device(s) 740, audio means 750, input device(s) 755, portablestorage medium drive(s) 760, a graphics subsystem 770 and a displaymeans 785. For purposes of simplicity, the components shown in FIG. 3are depicted as being connected via a single bus 780 (i.e. transmittingmeans). However, the components may be connected through one or moredata transport means (e.g. Internet, Intranet, etc.). For example,processor 730 and memory 725 may be connected via a local microprocessorbus, and the mass storage device 735, peripheral device(s) 740, portablestorage medium drive(s) 760, and graphics subsystem 770 may be connectedvia one or more input/output (I/O) buses. Mass storage device 735, whichis typically implemented with a magnetic disk drive or an optical diskdrive, is in one embodiment, a non-volatile storage device for storingdata and instructions for use by processor 730. The mass storage device735 includes the storage medium of embodiments of the present invention,and the server storage medium and client storage medium in alternativeembodiments In another embodiment, mass storage device 735 stores thefirst and second algorithms of the server in an embodiment of thepresent invention. The computer instructions that implement the methodof the present invention also may be stored in processor 730.

Portable storage medium drive 760 operates in conjunction with aportable non-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, or othercomputer-readable medium, to input and output data and code to and fromthe computer system of FIG. 7. In one embodiment, the method of thepresent invention that is implemented using computer instructions isstored on such a portable medium, and is input to the computer system746 via the portable storage medium drive 760. Peripheral device(s) 740may include any type of computer support device, such as an input/output(I/O) interface, to add additional functionality to the computer system746. For example, peripheral device(s) 740 may include a networkinterface card for interfacing computer system 746 to a network, amodem, and the like.

Input device(s) 755 provide a portion of a user interface. Inputdevice(s) 755 may include an alpha-numeric keypad for inputtingalpha-numeric and other key information, or a pointing device, such as amouse, a trackball, stylus or cursor direction keys. Such devicesprovide additional means for interfacing with the customized media listand the customized media in the method of the present invention. Inorder to display textual and graphical information, the computer 746 ofFIG. 7 includes graphics subsystem 770 and display means 785. Displaymeans 785 may include a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), other suitable display devices, or means for displaying,that enables a user to view the customized media list or customizedmedia. Graphics subsystem 770 receives textual and graphical informationand processes the information for output to display 785. The displaymeans 785 provides a practical application for providing the customizedmedia list of the present invention since the method of the presentinvention may be directly and practically implemented through the use ofthe display means 785. The computer system 746 of FIG. 7 also includesan audio system 750. In one embodiment, audio means 750 includes a soundcard that receives audio signals from a microphone that may be found inperipherals 740. In another embodiment, the audio system 750 may be aprocessor, such as processor 730, that processes sound. Additionally,the computer of FIG. 7 includes output devices 745. Examples of suitableoutput devices include speakers, printers, and the like.

The devices contained in the computer system of FIG. 7 are thosetypically found in general purpose computer, and are intended torepresent a broad category of such computer components that are wellknown in the art. The system of FIG. 7 illustrates one platform whichcan be used for practically implementing the method of the presentinvention. Numerous other platforms can also suffice, such asMacintosh-based platforms available from Apple Computer, Inc., platformswith different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processorplatforms, other personal computers, workstations, mainframes,navigation systems, and the like.

In a further embodiment, the present invention also includes a computerprogram product which is a computer readable medium (media) havingcomputer instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program acomputer to perform the method of the present invention as shown in FIG.5. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type ofdisk including floppy disks, optical disks, DVD, CD ROMs, magneticoptical disks, RAMs, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or anytype of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.

These same computer instructions may be located in an electronic signalthat is transmitted over a data network that performs the method asshown in FIG. 5 when loaded into a computer. The computer instructionsare in the form of data being transmitted over a data network. In oneembodiment, the method of the present invention is implemented incomputer instructions and those computer instructions are transmitted inan electronic signal through cable, satellite or other transmittingmeans for transmitting the computer instructions in the electronicsignals.

Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), the presentinvention includes software for controlling both the hardware of thegeneral purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enablingthe computer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or othermechanism utilizing the results of the present invention. Such softwaremay include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systemsand user applications. Ultimately, such computer readable media furtherincludes software for performing the method of the present invention asdescribed above.

Numerous advantages exist with the method and system of the presentinvention as claimed below.

First, a user is given many more options as to what content the userwishes to view or listen to than in the past. Rather than going channelby channel on a television or audio receptor, the user is able tospecifically personalize the content that it wishes to view at alltimes. Second, advertisers now have highly personalized data on eachuser so that the advertising may be directed closely to the particularaudience that advertisers wish to attract. Third, a user may, asdiscussed above with options to the system and method of the presentinvention, choose to pay additional fees in order to avoid advertisingin general. This adds to the entertainment value of the content beingwatched since advertisements are avoided and time is saved. Fourth, thenumber of actual users may now be closely monitored rather than relyingon audience estimators that can only guess as to the number of actualviewers or users watching or listening. Fifth, with the personal data onthe user being known, advertisers may be more confident in thepercentage of those users that fit within its target audience, therebyreaching a higher percentage of that target audience than in the past.

Sixth, the user has the advantage now that it may schedule the contentthat it wishes to view or listen to at the user's leisure rather than ona scheduled programming list as is currently the case.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with respectto certain embodiments and examples, variations and modifications existwhich are within the scope of the present invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

1. A system for providing customized digital media, comprising: acomputer system for: 1) receiving data from a user, directly or throughan intermediary, which data identifies the user, 2) generating acustomized media list at the computer system, based on personalized dataof the user, wherein the list comprises a program or advertisementincluding at least one entertainment or information program oradvertisement, or any combination of such programs or advertisements,which program or advertisement is selected from media options availableindependent of a broadcast schedule, the media options being stored atthe computer system, 3) storing the customized media list at thecomputer system, wherein the customized media list is not stored at theuser, and 4) storing customized media corresponding to the customizedmedia list at the computer system; and an electronic network fordelivering the customized media directly to the user from the computersystem, without storing the customized media local to the user,independent of a broadcast schedule.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein there is more than one user with one or more receptor devices,each user being able to receive customized media independent of abroadcast schedule.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein saidpersonalized data includes demographic information.
 4. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said personalized data includes a personalprofile, viewing preferences, past viewing, or viewing habits of theuser, and said customized media list is generated by said computersystem that supplies said customized media over said electronic network.5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said user may rearrange orsubtract from said customized media list, or add to such list from saidmedia options available independent of a broadcast schedule.
 6. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein said customized media comprisescustomized content or customized advertising or both.
 7. The systemaccording to claim 4, wherein said personalized data includes anadvertising preference.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein saidmedia options include advertisements.
 9. The system of claim 5, whereinsaid media options include advertisements.
 10. The system according toclaim 1, wherein said customized media includes both customized contentand customized advertising and said customized advertising is integratedwithin said customized content.
 11. The system according to claim 1,wherein said customized media includes both customized content andcustomized advertising, and said customized content and said customizedadvertising is arranged in a predetermined order.
 12. A system forproviding customized digital media, comprising: a computer system for:(1) receiving data from a user, directly or through an intermediary,which data identifies the user, 2) generating a customized media list,based on personalized data of the user, wherein the list comprises aprogram or advertisement including at least one entertainment orinformation program or advertisement, or any combination of suchprograms or advertisements, which program or advertisement is selectedfrom media options available independent of a broadcast schedule, and 3)initiating at the computer system a request for customized mediacorresponding to the customized media list, wherein the request is notinitiated by the user; and an electronic network for delivering thecustomized media independent of a broadcast schedule.
 13. A system forproviding customized digital media, comprising: a computer systemfor: 1) receiving data from a user, directly or through an intermediary,which data identifies the user, 2) generating a customized media list,based on personalized data of the user, wherein the list comprises aprogram or advertisement including at least one entertainment orinformation program or advertisement, or any combination of suchprograms or advertisements, which program or advertisement is selectedfrom media options available independent of a broadcast schedule, and 3)storing the customized media list at the computer system, wherein thecustomized media list is not stored at the user; and an electronicnetwork for delivering customized media corresponding to the customizedmedia list from the computer system.
 14. A system for providingcustomized digital media, comprising: a computer system for: 1)receiving data from a user, directly or through an intermediary, whichdata identifies the user, 2) generating a customized media list, basedon personalized data of the user, wherein the list comprises a programor advertisement including at least one entertainment or informationprogram or advertisement, or any combination of such programs oradvertisements, which program or advertisement is selected from mediaoptions available independent of a broadcast schedule, the media optionsstored at the computer system, and 3) storing customized mediacorresponding to the customized media list; and an electronic networkfor delivering customized media from the computer system to the userindependent of a broadcast schedule, wherein the user receives thecustomized media without storing the customized media local to the user.15. A system for providing customized digital media, comprising: acomputer system for: 1) receiving updated personal profile informationafter account initialization at the computer system, the updatedpersonal profile information identifying characteristics of a user,wherein the personal profile information is not stored local to theuser, and 2) generating a customized media list, based on the personalprofile information, wherein the list comprises a program oradvertisement including at least one entertainment or informationprogram or advertisement, or any combination of such programs oradvertisements, which program or advertisement is selected from mediaoptions available independent of a broadcast schedule; and an electronicnetwork for transmitting the updated personal profile information to thecomputer system and delivering customized media corresponding to thecustomized media list.
 16. A system for providing customized digitalmedia, comprising: a computer system for: 1) receiving updated mediapreference information after account initialization at the computersystem, the updated media preference information identifying mediapreferences of a user, wherein the media preference information is notstored local to the user, and 2) generating a customized media list,based on the media preferences, wherein the list comprises a program oradvertisement including at least one entertainment or informationprogram or advertisement, or any combination of such programs oradvertisements, which program or advertisement is selected from mediaoptions available independent of a broadcast schedule; and an electronicnetwork for transmitting the updated media preference information to thecomputer system and delivering customized media corresponding to thecustomized media list.
 17. A system for providing customized digitalmedia, comprising: a computer system for: 1) receiving viewing habitinformation at the computer system, the viewing habit informationidentifying viewing habits of a user, wherein the viewing habitinformation is not stored local to the user, and 2) generating acustomized media list, based on the viewing habit information, whereinthe list comprises a program or advertisement including at least oneentertainment or information program or advertisement, or anycombination of such programs or advertisements, which program oradvertisement is selected from media options available independent of abroadcast schedule; and an electronic network for transmitting theviewing habit information to the computer system and sending thecustomized media list to the user and delivering customized mediacorresponding to the customized media list.
 18. A system for providingcustomized digital media, comprising: a computer system for: 1)receiving updated personal profile information after accountinitialization at the computer system, the updated personal profileinformation identifying characteristics of a user, wherein the personalprofile information is not processed local to the user, and 2)generating a customized media list, based on the personal profileinformation, wherein the list comprises a program or advertisementincluding at least one entertainment or information program oradvertisement, or any combination of such programs or advertisements,which program or advertisement is selected from media options availableindependent of a broadcast schedule; and an electronic network fortransmitting the updated personal profile information to the computersystem and delivering customized media corresponding to the customizedmedia list.
 19. A system for providing customized digital media,comprising: a computer system for: 1) receiving updated media preferenceinformation after account initialization at the computer system, theupdated media preference information identifying media preferences of auser, wherein the media preference information is not processed local tothe user, and 2) generating a customized media list, based on the mediapreferences, wherein the list comprises a program or advertisementincluding at least one entertainment or information program oradvertisement, or any combination of such programs or advertisements,which program or advertisement is selected from media options availableindependent of a broadcast schedule; and an electronic network fortransmitting the updated media preference information to the computersystem and delivering customized media corresponding to the customizeddigital media list.
 20. A system for providing customized digital media,comprising: a computer system for: 1) receiving viewing habitinformation at the computer system, the viewing habit informationidentifying viewing habits of a user, wherein the updated viewing habitinformation is not processed local to the user, and 2) generating acustomized media list, based on the viewing habit information, whereinthe list comprises a program or advertisement including at least oneentertainment or information program or advertisement, or anycombination of such programs or advertisements, which program oradvertisement is selected from media options available independent of abroadcast schedule; and an electronic network for delivering customizedmedia corresponding to the customized media list.
 21. A system forproviding customized digital media, comprising: a computer systemfor: 1) prompting a user for personal profile information, the promptingbeing generated by the computer system, the personal profile informationbeing received from the user and identifying characteristics of the usernot related to media preferences where the media preferences are notprocessed local to the user, and 2) generating a customized media list,based on the personal profile information, wherein the list comprises aprogram or advertisement including at least one entertainment orinformation program or advertisement, or any combination of suchprograms or advertisements, which program or advertisement is selectedfrom media options available independent of a broadcast schedule; and anelectronic network for transmitting the prompting from the computersystem and delivering customized media corresponding to the customizedmedia list.
 22. A system for providing customized digital media,comprising: a computer system for: 1) prompting a user for updated mediapreference information after account initialization, the prompting beinggenerated by the computer system over an electronic network, the mediapreference information received from the user and identifying mediapreferences of the user wherein the media preferences are not processedlocal to the user, and 2) generating a customized media list, based onthe media preference information, wherein the list comprises a pluralityof items including at least one entertainment or information program oradvertisement, or any combination of such programs or advertisements,which program or advertisement is selected from media options availableindependent of a broadcast schedule; and the electronic network fortransmitting the prompting from the computer system and deliveringcustomized media corresponding to the plurality of items on thecustomized media list without the user selecting the customized mediafrom the customized media list.
 23. A system for providing customizeddigital media, comprising: a computer system for: 1) prompting a userfor viewing habit information, the prompting being generated by thecomputer system over an electronic network, the viewing habitinformation received from the user and identifying viewing habits of theuser wherein the viewing habits are not processed local to the user, and2) generating a customized media list, based on the viewing habitinformation, wherein the list comprises a program or advertisementincluding at least one entertainment or information program oradvertisement, or any combination of such programs or advertisements,which program or advertisement is selected from media options availableindependent of a broadcast schedule; and the electronic network fortransmitting the prompting from the computer system and deliveringcustomized media corresponding to the customized media list.
 24. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the computer system includes two or morecomputers.